[SOLVED]network connection

Cube_Code · 2012-07-15 12:19:35

I carefully followed the beginners guide and successfully installed Arch but, when i rebooted I had no network connection. The guide says "If you properly configured your system, you should have a working network." I checked rc.conf and hosts and they have both been updated according to the guide. The exact commands I used to set up my Belkin usb wi-fi card are as follows:

ip link set wlan0 up
wpa_passphrase %*&$ "$#@!%$@" > /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf
wpa_supplicant -B -Dwext -i wlan0 -c /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf
dhcpcd wlan0

Shouldn't the network daemon have connected me automatically? In order to connect I had to reissue these commands:

wpa_supplicant -B -Dwext -i wlan0 -c /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf
dhcpcd wlan0

wpa_supplicant -B -Dwext -i wlan0 -c /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf returned the error rfkill: cannot open RFKILL control device but was necessary for me to connect. I would like to be able to connect to the internet automatically without issuing any commands.

Last edited by Cube_Code (2012-07-19 13:34:51)

Trilby · 2012-07-15 12:29:20

Cube_Code wrote:

Shouldn't the network daemon have connected me automatically?

No, I don't believe so. The network daemon (I think) is only for wired connections. Everything you did to get wireless looks correct, but so far you don't have anything to manage that wireless connection.

I prefer the manual steps myself, but if you want to connect automatically at boot time you'll need to set up netcfg, network manager, or wicd.

See the wireless page on the wiki for more info.

silly · 2012-07-15 12:37:55

you could just write a simple bash script that does these commands on login.

#! /bin/bash
wpa_supplicant -B -Dwext -i wlan0 -c /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf
sleep 3 && dhcpcd wlan0

Last edited by silly (2012-07-15 12:40:51)

Cube_Code · 2012-07-16 00:04:54

I set up netcfg but when I used the command
netcfg mynetwork
I got the error
nl80211: 'nl80211' generic netlink not found
Failed to initialize driver 'nl80211'
rfkill: cannot open RFKILL control device

Cube_Code · 2012-07-16 00:26:02

Despite those error messages I can ping google. It looks like my connection works but I would like to know what those errors mean.

nomorewindows · 2012-07-16 01:01:51

Just to check:

iwconfig wlan0 essid <network> enc <passphrase>
dhcpcd wlan0

I don't see nl80211 as a kernel module, not sure what this is.

Cube_Code · 2012-07-16 02:05:13

I got an invalid argument error for my passphrase.

nomorewindows · 2012-07-16 02:29:44

Are you using wpa/wpa2 or wep? You might need to use wicd to get it to connect. I gave up using wpa_supplicant long ago. If I wanted to connect to something else, then I would have to define it, but wicd shows me what's available most of the time. You might also do man iwconfig, for instructions on using wpa.

Trilby · 2012-07-16 02:35:22

I used wicd for a while and was very happy. But it isn't anything more than a helpful front end to all the manual tools. Wicd calls wpa_supplicant, so if wpa_supplicant won't connect, wicd wouldn't either.

Cube_Code, when did you get the invalid argument error? When you tried to run wpa_supplicant, or wpa_passphrase? If the latter, be aware that spaces (and possibly other special characters) must be escaped in essids and passphrases.

Cube_Code · 2012-07-16 03:39:36

The error was when I ran this
iwconfig wlan0 essid <network> enc <passphrase>
I did set up netcfg as a daemon but it produces errors before connecting. The errors slow down the boot but it seems to function fine despite that. I just wanted to know why I am getting error messages at this point. Also, how can I display commands properly?

HungGarTiger · 2012-07-16 04:15:35

You can add @ tags in your daemons array, this is mine

DAEMONS=(syslog-ng @network crond dbus @net-profiles slim)

this will load daemons in the background, reducing the load time again. Are you loading daemons in the right order (net-profiles after dbus for example)? This can also cause problems, admitedly though maybe not the one you're experiencing..

Trilby · 2012-07-16 11:28:18

oops ... I missed that this was WPA.

I haven''t used WPA, but did you see this

man iwconfig wrote:

key/enc[ryption]
...
You can also enter the key as an ASCII string by using
the s: prefix. Passphrase is currently not supported.

Are you trying to use a passphrase, or have you converted it to a hex key?

edit: sorry if I added more confusion than help - above I was typing WPA but thinking WEP. I have and do use WPA, but I haven't used WEP.

Last edited by Trilby (2012-07-18 11:35:59)

Cube_Code · 2012-07-17 11:08:07

@Trilby
I was just trying what nomorewindows suggested. I already have it configured and set up as a daemon but I continue to get the previously stated error messages.

@HungGarTiger
Thanks for that. It keeps the errors from interupting the boot. The deamons have not been altered except for replacing network with net-profiles.

At this point my initial problem is solved but google turned up no meaningful results on my error messages. I could mark the thread as solved but those errors are just bugging me despite their appearant insignificance.

Gusar · 2012-07-17 11:18:06

iwconfig is *not* for WPA, only for WEP. And if you're using WEP you should be lynched.

Cube_Code, which wireless card do you have (lspci -nn will tell you that)?

Cube_Code · 2012-07-18 02:37:50

It's a Belkin usb F7D1101 wireless adapter [Realtek RTL8188SU].

Gusar · 2012-07-18 09:48:30

Which driver are you using with that, r8172u? That's one of the few remaining wext drivers, so those messages are normal, and harmless. There's a simple way to get rid of them, but finding that out I leave as an exercise to you . Hint: read the documentation on netcfg profiles.

Cube_Code · 2012-07-19 09:36:29

Gusar wrote:

Which driver are you using with that, r8172u? That's one of the few remaining wext drivers, so those messages are normal, and harmless. There's a simple way to get rid of them, but finding that out I leave as an exercise to you . Hint: read the documentation on netcfg profiles.

Thanks for the hint. Can you give me one for finding out which driver I am using?

Arch Linux

#1 2012-07-15 12:19:35

[SOLVED]network connection

#2 2012-07-15 12:29:20

Re: [SOLVED]network connection

#3 2012-07-15 12:37:55

Re: [SOLVED]network connection

#4 2012-07-16 00:04:54

Re: [SOLVED]network connection

#5 2012-07-16 00:26:02

Re: [SOLVED]network connection

#6 2012-07-16 01:01:51

Re: [SOLVED]network connection

#7 2012-07-16 02:05:13

Re: [SOLVED]network connection

#8 2012-07-16 02:29:44

Re: [SOLVED]network connection

#9 2012-07-16 02:35:22

Re: [SOLVED]network connection

#10 2012-07-16 03:39:36

Re: [SOLVED]network connection

#11 2012-07-16 04:15:35

Re: [SOLVED]network connection

#12 2012-07-16 11:28:18

Re: [SOLVED]network connection

#13 2012-07-17 11:08:07

Re: [SOLVED]network connection

#14 2012-07-17 11:18:06

Re: [SOLVED]network connection

#15 2012-07-18 02:37:50

Re: [SOLVED]network connection

#16 2012-07-18 09:48:30

Re: [SOLVED]network connection

#17 2012-07-19 09:36:29

Re: [SOLVED]network connection

Board footer